Media Events Become Talking Points

As a journalist I am all for freedom of speech and the free press. However, as a parent I find the the recent trends in celebrity “journalism” troublesome. First with the Tiger Woods scandal and now with the Jesse James-Sandra Bullock media blitz, it seems everyone –even the children– are talking about this “news.”

At our house we don’t watch the celebrity gossip shows or even the news on most nights, but the recent permeation of these two events on t.v., Internet browsers and homepages, and on magazine covers at grocery and drug stores has made it hard to miss.  The day the Jesse James story broke, it was so heavily reported my kids wanted to know who died. My boys are 10 and 12 and so they understand by varying degrees what has happened. The message is clear though: these men broke promises to their wives and “cheated,” but (allegedly) not just once, but many times.

I know these issues are not new. The private lives of previous Hollywood stars like Clint Eastwood and Warren Beatty have been grist for the rumor mill for a long, long time. But the level of the attention focused on these recent events distresses me. It isn’t something that can be ignored.

Without lecturing (hey, at least I tried not to lecture!) I briefly brought up the news and asked them what they had heard. Then we talked about honesty and integrity and keeping promises. We talked about what people of character do (such as ending one relationship honestly before starting another) despite what everyone else seems to be doing or saying they are doing.

As parents, we can’t shelter our kids from the world and the “news.” Instead, we have to find a way to help them live in it as respectfully and responsibly a possible.